Quote: (06-29-2013 07:01 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:
As a foreigner, I don't understand why The Catcher in the Rye and Huckleberry Finn are banned in US high schools. What's wrong with these books? I really like The Catcher in the Rye - read it a couple of times recently. As for Huckleberry Finn, the Russian translation of the book was assigned to me either at middle or high school. I think I read some parts of the book but was too young to appreciate it, or probably had other things on my mind at the time. It's funny, but I don't think i even paid attention to the fact that Huckleberry Finn was black. At that age, I had never seen a black person and had absolutely no idea about the race issues in the US.
1) catcher in the rye - dude ditches school, talks about trying to lose his v-card, gets a prostitute, gets very drunk - you don't want students emulating Holden.
2) huck finn - Huck finn is white.
Why Huck Finn is banned?
It depends on who you talk to.
People that don't really understand the story think it's banned because of Mark Twain's fucked up characterization of Jim. Throw in the rampant use of the N-word, and call it a wrap.
Now you talk to black folks about Huck Finn....
Huck plays Jim for a fool throughout the novel.
Jim, being purposefully written to be obedient and subservient, sticks his neck out for Huck more than a few times.
So at some point in the story Huck has the opportunity to give Jim his freedom from slavery.
What does Huck Finn do? Return the favor? Plead Jim's case? Defend Jim?
Huck doesn't do a god damn thing for Jim.
Huck Finn, like most novels involving white people and black people, says a lot more about white people than anything else - and that's why it's so dangerous to teach.
It's a good thing that most literature in High School is impossible to understand in High School, because otherwise High School would fail in it's main purpose - to create ignorant but obedient workers and consumers.
WIA